FSSPX News: Letter From the Superior General in Response to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV (‘I Wish We Could Have Met’)

Source: FSSPX News, June 30, 2026

The Superior General To His Holiness Pope Leo XIV

Écône, June 30, 2026

Most Holy Father,

Thank you very much for the letter you were kind enough to send me.

I was deeply touched by your fatherly concern.

For a long time, I have wished to have the opportunity to meet with you in order to personally express our sincere desire to serve the Church. Unfortunately, this opportunity has not arisen.

I simply ask you to consider the authenticity of this intention, which is not at all contrived. Paradoxically, in the current context, it seems to us precisely our duty to do everything possible to mend the tunic of Christ, torn by forces and pressures incompatible with a truly Catholic spirit. I simply ask you to consider the authenticity of this intention before making a decision concerning the Society of Saint Pius X. It is not too late.

Far be it from us to separate ourselves from the Roman Catholic Church; on the contrary, we desire to serve it in extraordinary ways, as one comes to the aid of a mother in distress who needs special help, even if this help is not understood by everyone. But I am certain that the Holy Father would understand it.

The Holy See has already shown that it can understand very complex situations and take the necessary time.

I therefore take the liberty of filially asking you to take the time that this discernment requires.

If my words were not enough, I would ask you to consider two very simple facts. First, the Society was already declared schismatic in 1988, for reasons and in circumstances entirely analogous to those of today; and yet, after so many years, we speak to each other like a father to his son. Your Holiness paternally exhorts me to avoid a schism that, theoretically, would already have occurred. Do you not think that this very attitude, the solicitude of which I deeply appreciate, constitutes precisely the proof that the Society is neither schismatic nor hostile to the Church?

Secondly, a few years ago, the Holy See entrusted two bishops of the Church with the mission of engaging in dialogue with the Society of Saint Pius X: Bishop Vitus Huonder, then Bishop of Chur, now deceased, and Bishop Athanasius Schneider, Auxiliary Bishop of Astana. Both, after taking the necessary time for discernment, recognized the profoundly Catholic spirit of the Society and publicly bore witness to it.

But above all, I take the liberty of addressing Your Holiness on behalf of the thousands of souls who have rediscovered the Catholic faith and religious practice thanks to the apostolate of the Society. This is a fact that Your predecessors themselves acknowledged. These souls have but one desire: to attain salvation through this instrument that Providence has placed at their disposal. They have suffered, and they are sincere. I am certain that Your paternal heart as Universal Pastor will be sensitive to this very particular situation. One day, all the difficulties between the Holy See and the Society will be resolved. A gesture of understanding on Your part, far from harming unity, could only demonstrate to the world and to all Christians Your concern for unity and Your fatherly kindness.

I leave all this to Your kind consideration. I renew my prayer to Your Holiness.

For a long time, even before your election, I have prayed to Saint Rita for the present situation. I saw in the election of an Augustinian Pope a sign of hope. I am certain that the saint will intercede. It is never too late.

I kindly ask you to give us your blessing.

And I take this opportunity to renew to you the expression of my deepest devotion in the Lord.

Don Davide Pagliarani

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